


Forever Yours

by merceralexs



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Character Death, but it's cute!!! i promise, fluffy/angst, it started as really fluffy and then got sad i'm sorry, julie and luke talk about julie's mom, they geek over luke's piercing it's fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28676544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merceralexs/pseuds/merceralexs
Summary: They'd been avoiding it long enough, but they have to face the truth sooner or later. Luke & Julie finally have the conversation that they've refused to acknowledge. Julie doesn't want to lose anymore.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 96





	Forever Yours

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this initially started out fluffy & there IS fluff i promise and it rounds itself out and it's very sweet, i PROMISE. but i kind of went off on a tangent. there's mentions of julie's mom's death but other than that. they're just being there for each other. finding comfort in each other. to anyone hurt by this, i'm sorry.  
> but i hope you enjoy otherwise. 
> 
> yes i was listening to you by keaton henson while writing this. no, i don't want to talk about it.

The Molina house was fairly quiet that afternoon - Carlos and Ray out for baseball - and Julie was happy to have the house to herself. She could focus on her calculus test coming up and hopefully pull her grade back up. Truth be told, she had been slipping over the last few months, the band,  _ and Luke _ , taking up most of her time. She’d never had to balance music and school like this, so it was challenging at first but she made a promise to her dad: School first, band second. 

But she couldn’t focus when Luke had big green eyes and fluffy brown hair that looked so soft to the touch. She couldn’t focus when she was studying in the studio and he was sitting beside her strumming his six string, his knee brushing hers, and she surely couldn’t focus when he was laughing at his own jokes, that beautiful smile plastered on his face. 

She had finally gotten into a routine and found a balance, so of course he had to ruin that. 

“Hey Julie!” Luke appears unannounced, taking a seat on the ottomon at the end of her bed. “I was thinking that we could rehearse a little later? I know you have homework right now but maybe in an hour or so? We’ve been working on something I think you’re going to love.” 

She drops her pencil. 

“When did you get that?” she raises an eyebrow, reaching out to touch his face. He dodges her touch and laughs. 

“Reggie did it last night, it’s still sensitive.” Julie nods thoughtfully. “What?” he asks, feeling a blush creep up his neck. The two of them are sitting in Julie's bedroom, Julie’s books and notes scattered everywhere. She reaches out again and he pulls back. “You need to focus on your homework.” 

She gives him an incredulous look. “You’re one to talk! You’re always distracting me,” she scoffs. Luke opens his mouth to say something and then shuts it, the blush rising to his cheeks. She notices him staring and meets his eyes. “Are you okay?” 

He blinks. “Yeah, yeah fine.” He shakes his head,  _ why did your brain just shut down? _ , he thinks. Then he scratches the back of his neck. “I just thought you might think it looks dumb?” 

“You won’t let me touch it!” 

“You don’t need to, to have an opinion on whether or not it looks good,” he chuckles. “Just know that it hurt.” 

“Well  _ Reggie _ pierced it, you really think it was going to go over well?” He shrugs. “He actually did a pretty good job. It just looks a little off center.” Luke’s eyes go wide. “I’m kidding.” 

“You’re in for it now,” Luke laughs, lurching forward to grab at her sides. They’re a fit of laughter and clashing limbs, Julie finally grabbing his arms and pinning him down. “Okay so this didn’t end up like how I planned,” he chuckles, reaching up to brush some of the hair behind her ear. His eyes flicker to her lips for a moment. He  _ could _ , he knows that. They’ve been able to feel each other for months now, but he’s always hesitated, not knowing if it would be an overstep. 

“I’m stronger than I look,” she says, running her thumb over his jawline. “The piercing suits you.” She rolls off of him and lays back on the bed, crossing her ankles over each other. Luke blinks up at the ceiling before turning in to face her, head propped up with his arm. “I want another piercing soon.” 

“Yeah?” he raises his eyebrows. “Where at?” 

“Maybe the nose, to match you,” she giggles, tapping on his nose.  _ Please never stop laughing. _ “But I don't know, nothing major. Maybe the nose or double cartilage. Flynn and I talked about getting matching tattoos when we turn eighteen, though.” Luke nods, smiling at her. He reaches across her to grab at her farthest arms, pulling her into him and laying back against the pillows. He can tell when she lets out the breath she’s been holding in. 

She thought it would be tense, that her body would freeze when he touched her again, but things with Luke felt natural. They felt right. 

“What of?” Luke asks, breaking the silence they had been sitting in. He gently combs his fingers through her hair, his fingers dancing against the side of her neck before he moves his hand back up. 

“Dahlias,” she says, without hesitation. “For my mom, obviously,” she finished, a little quieter. She closes her eyes and wishes she could hear his heartbeat instead of her own that’s pounding in her ears. She shifts momentarily, draping her arm across his torso. “I miss her.” 

“I know,” he replies. 

“What are we doing?” she asks, tracing patterns into his side. “I know… I know we can’t really  _ be _ anything but I--”

“We can be whatever you want us to be, Jules. We can just take each moment for what it is, I guess. I want you to be happy, you  _ deserve  _ to be so happy.” He sighs, nudging her to sit up. He takes her hands in his and holds them close to his chest. “You deserve someone who can give you everything. You’re going to keep getting older and I’ll still be here.” 

She shakes her head, “Please don’t say that.” 

“I have to. We have to be honest with ourselves.” She takes a breath and he puts his hand on the back of her neck, holding her gaze. “I care about you so much, Julie. But I don’t want you to put your life on hold for me. We don’t know how long we’ll be here, how long  _ this _ will last. I-I don’t want to hurt you.” 

Julie gently pushes his hands away, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. Luke watches her carefully, knowing he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He watches her grab her dream box from the shelf and place it on the bed. Then, she sits back down. 

“My mom wrote me this note that I keep...I read it when I want to feel closer to her.” Julie crosses her legs under one another and opens the box, pulling out the tattered piece of purple paper. She blows out a breath. “Dear Julie, I hope you get everything you want out of life. Know--” she clears her throat, trying to halt the sob that catches in her throat. “Know I’m always with you. Love, Mom.” 

“Jules, we don’t--”

“No, it’s okay. She wrote that when she was on her last rounds of treatment. I think I knew in my heart that she wasn’t… uh, that she wasn’t going to make it.” She can’t meet his eyes. “But I knew what she wanted for me. I knew how she wanted me to live my life.” 

He puts his finger under her chin, tilting her head up so he can smile. His eyes are sad, but his features are soft, his eyes glossed over. “I’m right here.” 

“But you won’t always be,” she says, as a matter-of-fact. “A-and I have to be okay with that. That night at the Orpheum.....” she looks down at her hands. “It was the worst pain I’ve felt since Mom died. It brought back everything I repressed, everything I refused to feel. And then I saw the dahlia and I knew she brought you guys to me for a reason.” Luke feels like he might burn under her gaze.  _ She trusts me as much as I trust her _ . He bites his lip and reaches out for her hands again. 

“I think we’ve both brought a lot to each other’s lives, Jules.” The corners of her mouth twitch up into a small smile. “You helped me feel closer to my parents than I ever did, you helped me learn more about myself and how I handle situations. You taught me what it means to be selfless and kind. About finding your family in your friends.” He hesitates, at first. “You taught me about love.” 

Julie’s hands tense under his touch, but he doesn’t let that stop him. He strokes his thumb over the inside of her wrist and brings her eyes back up to his. He wipes away the tears on her cheeks with the other thumb. 

“I mean that with every ounce of my soul, Julie.” Julie lans forward to press her forehead to his, wiping the tears off her nose with the back of her hand. “Even if I’m not physically here, I’m still always with you.” He tilts his head up to press a kiss to her forehead. 

“I don’t know why I brought it up,” she sniffles and Luke shrugs, pulling her to ease them back down against the pillows. 

“Sometimes we just need to talk about those things, you know?” Julie nods appreciatively, taking a deep breath. 

“Will you stay for a while?” 

“Of course I will.” He waits for her to get comfortable, cuddled into his side, before he rests his head against the pillows. He sighs contentedly, Julie playing with the rings on his fingers, can’t help the smile on his face. He loves Julie and that will always be true, no matter how long he’s around. 

* * *

Julie wakes up later on, the feeling of the empty bed beside her. Taking a breath, she sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She stands up and walks to her bedroom window, seeing the light still on in the garage.  _ Still here _ , she thinks, heaving a sigh of relief. Turning on her heel, she notices her dream box neatly placed on her bedside table, a small piece of paper sticking out. 

“Luke,” she breathes. She makes her way back over to the box and opens it, fishing out the note. 

_ Jules, _   
  


_ This is super cheesy, especially because I’m not even gone, but I was thinking about what you said. About your mom and all the things you want to do and get to keep her memory alive. I want you to know how strong you are, how big your heart is, how bright your soul shines. When I do cross over, if that even happens, I want you to know that you mean everything to me and more. The ring in the box was my dad’s, you already know that, but I want you to have it. That’s the physical piece of me I want to leave behind for you. It always gave me comfort, as we were…. You know. He was always there with me. He would always be with me even if I couldn’t be with him. I hope it holds the same sentiment for you.  _

_ I really suck with words and I know my handwriting is not the greatest, so I’ll just leave you with the famous words of Keaton Henson, or at least close enough: If I must die, sweetheart, know that your life, was my life's favorite part.  _

_ Forever yours,  _

_ Luke _

Julie brushes the sleeve of her shirt on her cheeks and takes a deep breath, sitting back on her bed and pulling the ring from the box. She turns it over in her fingers, and smiles, reaching in her table draw to pull out an old chain she had. She had been meaning to make a new necklace, but this seemed fitting. She unclasped the chain, sliding the ring through, and pulled it up around her neck, clasping the two sides together. 

“Forever yours.” 

  
  



End file.
